


A New Perspective

by Mona (RJ92)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bodyswap, F/M, Reader Insert, Reader's a bit of a pottymouth sometimes, Soulmate AU, The bodyswap one, Underfell, language warning, underswap - Freeform, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23353888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RJ92/pseuds/Mona
Summary: You wake up one morning and don't quite feel like yourself. Turns out that there's a pretty simple explanation for that. You aren't. Instead, you find yourself in the body of a big scary looking skeleton monster. Turns out soulmates are real, and you just happen to be part of that small percentage that has one and it just has to be the bodyswap one.
Relationships: Sans (Underfell)/Reader, Sans/Reader
Comments: 57
Kudos: 347





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all. Been really into Underfell fics lately and wanted to write something super indulgent. This is a 3 part mini series based on the Soulmate AU prompt that was going around a while back. The one where you swap bodies with your soulmate for 24 hours. Except, because I really like this idea, I'm making it basically into a week long experience.
> 
> So yeah. Here it is. As of posting this, I don't actually have parts 2 and 3 written yet but I do actually have a solid start-to-end outline written up. I'm hoping to get it done within the next week so please subscribe and bookmark if you like this first part.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's left kudos and comments on all my other works. I'm shit at getting stuff written and posted beyond short drabbles and whatnot over on Tumblr, but I promise I read all the reviews and comments I get, so thanks again for your kind words and encouragement!

It's the sour taste of old beer and stale potato chips that wake you. At least, you think that's what woke you up. It could have been the splitting headache or even the distant shouting of your neighbors arguing again. Whatever it was, it was unpleasant and you desperately wished you could go back to sleep, if only for a few more minutes.

Your body feels heavy but your head feels like it weighs nothing at all. It's a chore that takes all of your energy just to sit up and shove the blankets off of you. At some point during the night you'd managed to ball them up into a tangled mess. You don't have the patience to shake them out.

 _God, how much did I drink last night?_ You think, lifting a hand to groggily rub at your eyes. They feel dry and itchy and you think you might have fallen asleep with your contacts in again.

You manage to crack them open enough to notice the sunlight filtering around the edges of the blackout curtains hung up over the windows, only to squeeze them shut just as fast. The carpet feels rough under your feet when you stand and stumble blindly towards the door at the far end of the room. You get about halfway through the room before your foot slams into something solid and you nearly fall over at the pain that shoots up your leg from the impact.

"FFffuckin'--!"

You don't remember getting a treadmill, but apparently drunk you must have done some shopping yesterday. The sharp pain from stubbing your little toe against the edge of it wakes you a little more, leaving you limping on your way to the bathroom. You shoulder open the door and make your way inside.

"C'mon, switch, don't be a shit today..." Your hand smacks against the wall until you find the light switch and flip it upwards, flooding the small room with light. You don't remember having lights above the mirror.

Actually, you don't remember this bathroom at all. You turn from the bulbs and squint at the rest of the room, glancing around like something suspicious is going on. It does all look familiar, to a small extent. A tub at the far end of the room, a toilet next to it, the sink, a cabinet built into the wall...

But that's absolutely _not_ your shower curtain. There's a towel wadded up and shoved into the space between the toilet and the tub, too, something you'd never do... and what the hell is that _smell_?

Your nose crinkles as you sniff around, the scent almost musky and tangy at the same time. You find the source a few seconds later when you slide the shower curtain back. A large bottle of mustard has somehow ended up in the tub with its bright yellow contents splattered across the floor and up the side of the tub.

What -- You know what? No. You don't have the brain right now to figure this out. Considering the last thing you remember is going out drinking last night and then nothing else after the fifth shot of tequila, you can only conclude that you'd gotten blackout drunk and gone home with a stranger. Again.

Huffing, you throw the curtain closed and turn back towards the sink, reaching out to turn on the water. You cup your hands under the faucet and lean over the sink to take a mouthful, swishing it around. It helps rinse the sourness away enough for you to think more clearly.

Any clear thoughts you have in the next moment are gone as soon as you look up and see your reflection in the mirror.

A skull glares back at you, a jaw full of what can only be described as fangs curled into a frown. A golden tooth replaces one canine and there are a few small hairline fractures around an eyesocket. Little red dots, glowing and quickly shrinking into pinpricks, float in the black abyss where eyes should have been.

That's... not you. Last time you checked, you'd had skin and hair.

There should have been a sense of panic here. You wait for it, staring this person in the mirror down, sure it'll come any second now. Maybe this was just a dream? You did drink an awful lot last night. Some alcohol would make you have vivid dreams and hallucinations. This could be the result of one of them.

On some level, you know it's not. You know what this is, but what were the odds? That you, a human, would have a soulmate. Not just any soulmate, but a literal monster of a soulmate.

You shove yourself away from the sink and almost tear the door off the hinges as you throw yourself through, darting around the treadmill -- why is it in the middle of the room?! -- and right back to the bed.

"Where the fuck is my phone?!"

You grab the blanket and shake it out, sending crumbs and a few crumpled wrappers flying. A black brick of a phone thumps onto the mattress and you swipe it up. It doesn't occur to you until after you've turned it on that it's not actually your phone, but your hands move on their own and punch in a passcode.

 _7267_.

You check time first. It's a little before ten AM. There are a dozen unread texts in the notifications. As you hold it, another joins the count. You can't help your curiosity. Swiping down on the top bar shows you text previews from at least five different numbers, none of which you recognize.

One does catch your attention though, the only one with a proper name... uh, if you could call 'Edge' a proper name. The text is in all caps and you can't help but notice that it's several paragraphs long. You dismiss it without reading it, moving from texts to the internet browser.

As soon as the page loads you're immediately assaulted with loud moans and heavy breathing. Your skull lights up a bright red and you quickly close the tab... and another.. and _another_. Holy shit, did this guy not know how to close out tabs? You close nearly a dozen porn tabs of varying intensity and another dozen of miscellaneous content, then open one to look up your local weather.

You have no idea where your soulmate lives, so you can't search for a specific zip code. The phone's location makes it easy to figure that out, though, and soon you learn that you're in the heart of Ebbot, the hotspot for monsters and adventurous humans alike.

_Great. At least it's a start._

The next few hours pass in a blur. You dig through piles of clothes to find something clean enough to wear then take a shower. You throw out the old mustard bottle and rinse the mustard itself down the drain with the hose showerhead attachment.

You feel better after cleaning up and washing the grit and grime off your bones. It's interesting to wash this body. The bathroom is full of steam from the heat of the water but you barely notice the heat. It leaves you feeling clean and almost tingly. The soap in the shower was a liquid form and smelled strongly of woodsmoke and sage. Not your favorite scent, but it wasn't bad. As curious as you are about this body, it's all bones, and there's nothing entertaining enough for you to linger on.

The clothes you'd found were the least smelly and stained ones available. A soft turtleneck in a neutral shade of blue, a pair of khaki cargo pants, and an orange hoodie that had a lingering smell of something sweet permanently absorbed into the fibers. Shoes had been trickier. Your soulmate seemed to have a love for flip flops and slippers. There had been a single scuffed sneaker shoved under the bed, but you hadn't been able to find the other one.

Thankfully, you'd found a pair of nice black shoes still in their box in the closet, so you'd opted to wear those instead of wasting time searching for the missing sneaker. You'd also found a wallet, its leather soft from use.

There wasn't much inside beyond an old, expired ID that didn't really look like you. Er, your soulmate. Where he was sharp, the face in this ID was soft and friendly. The resemblace was close enough, you supposed, so you didn't think about it too much. There were a few crumpled bills as well, and a couple of debit cards, too.

_Well... sorry, uh... whatever your name is. What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. For now, anyway._

You shove the wallet and phone into the pockets of the soft orange hoodie you wore and make your way through the sty of a bedroom to the door. You half expect it to creak as you inch it open wide enough to peek your head out, but it doesn't.

When you note that the coast is clear, you slip out and close it behind you as quietly as you can, then make your way towards the stairs at the end of the hall. You're so focused on the stairs that you don't even notice that you've actually been spotted by one of the other residents in the house.

Once at the base of the stairs, you dig out the phone and unlock it, pulling up the internet browser -- Undernet, the preferred monster browser -- to search up and compare fare prices from Ebbot to your own town. You don't know exactly how much this guy has in his bank account, but a quick glance at the banking app has you letting out a low whistle of appreciation.

Shit, he's absolutely fucking loaded. You still don't want to spend a lot, though, and figure that a Greyhound ticket is the cheapest, best option. You're about to book the ticket when you feel a hand land on your shoulder and you spin around, letting out an undignified yelp of surprise.

"RED! What a surprise to see you up and about so early! It's not even noon yet!" The first to speak is a tall skeleton wearing a white tee with a faded emoticon printed on the front, a pair of black shorts, and knee high red boots. The shoes don't go with the rest of the outfit, but somehow they do? At the same time?? What?

"Mm," A cloud of whispy golden smoke plumes from the mouth of the second skeleton, who would be standing just as tall as the first if he wasn't slouching so hard. "Where's the fire? You're never up this early. Tryin' to sneak out before your bro gets home again?"

He grins, the cigarette hanging loose from his teeth. You glance between him and the taller one, thinking fast. You let your body respond on its own. Your shoulders relax and your stance becomes a little looser.

"Y'know how it is," You manage to say, shrugging. "Jus' tryin' not to fan the flames today... thought it'd be nice to change it up for once."

The tall one lets out a loud laugh, a sort of nyeh-heh-hehing that you feel in your bones. "How delightful! I'm sure Edge will be pleased with your initiative!" He gives your shoulder a squeeze, then a soft nudge. "Stretch was just about to go find Blue for lunch. Since you're up, why not continue being so productive and help me prepare lunch for the boys?"

"I --"

He doesn't wait for a response, instead turning and darting off in the direction you assume the kitchen is in. Stretch gives you a side glance, his eyelights lingering for a moment. You feel a bead of cold sweat form at the back of your skull and you only hope he doesn't notice that you're not this Red fellow.

"Nice jacket." Stretch comments, but it's all he says before he's gone. You're left staring at the spot he'd been just a moment ago, eyelights gone and jaw slack in stunned silence. Did he just fucking teleport?

"RED! Come along now, the others will be here soon!" The skeleton pokes his head around the corner and gives you a wide grin. You turn and make your way towards him, trying to feel as confident as you hope you look. "I'm planning on making grilled cheese with tomatoes and bacon!"

"Yeah... best not to keep everyone waitin'..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for violence, language, verbal and physical abuse towards the end of this chapter. I'm not really good at writing violence (especially domestic violence, it's one of my own triggers) but I felt that this was needed for the story to progress. So yeah. Be mindful of these warnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, turns out I lied. I have the outline done but apparently the content is so long that I ended up accidentally splitting chapter 1 into 2 parts. I wrote until I felt like it was a good point to stop, but didn't realize that the chapter continued on in my notes until I wrote what I thought was chapter 2. Which ended up being the second half of my planned chapter one.
> 
> So here's part 2 of chapter 1, or, you know... chapter 2, I guess. Since all 3 of my original chapter plans were roughly the same length, this is looking like it's going to be more than a 3 part short story. Probably 5 or 6 parts, if I have to break it up even more.

You learn that this skeleton is named Papyrus and that he has a brother named Sans. You only learn his name because when you ask him what kind of cheese he likes in his grilled cheese sandwiches, he grandly declares, "The GREAT PAPYRUS," in which he manages to somehow roll the R in 'great' without having a visible tongue, "enjoys a blend of Swiss and mozzerella!"

"Why's that, Paps?" The nickname came easily to you, rolling out without you even thinking twice about it. It's enough to make the lights in Papyrus's eyes literally sparkle like tiny stars.

"Because they melt so well! Here, I'll make one for you the same way I make them for myself!"

And he does. It's not bad, except, uh... He's not a very good cook. You helped him out by getting the cheeses from the fridge and he gets the bread from the breadbox beside the fridge. He also grabs the butter while you grab a few tomatoes and the pack of bacon from the drawers at the bottom.

You watch him cook with vigor and passion. He slams a knife through the tomatoes to make thick slices. His attempt at pan frying the bacon leaves it borderline burned and he tries to use a mix of the bacon grease and butter to cook the sandwiches. The result is a dark, soggy grilled cheese with hard bacon and overmelted cheese with tomato slices that are still cold when you bite into it.

"Well?" He leans forward expectantly, holding the spatula in one hand and a plate in the other with a second unfortunate sandwich in the other. "Is it as delicious as you expected?"

"It's... indescribable." You choke down the rest of the sandwich within a few large bites, trying your best not to cringe. Papyrus tried so hard to make it for you, you just couldn't tell him that it left a lot to be desired.

Either way, he seems pleased with your response and turns back to the skillet on the stove to begin preparing more bacon and bread for the others. You move to his side quickly under the guise of being interesting in learning his methods.

"Hey, y'know, I read somewhere a while back tha' if you use mayo instead of butter on the bread, it'll give it a more savory flavor."

You hear footsteps and glance to the side nervously to spot Stretch making his way to the table just outside of the kitchen. He settles in, eyes closed and head tipped back as if he's fallen asleep. You know he's awake, though. No one falls asleep _that_ fast.

"That! Doesn't sound quite right!" Papyrus pauses, obviously curious. "Mayonaise on a grilled cheese?"

"Y-Yeah," You step over to the fridge to tug the door open and find the jar on one of the shelves. It's half empty but you don't need much. "How's about you let me make one for you and you can tell me if it's _butter_ than you expect it to be?"

"Well! Although I doubt it'll meet my standards, let it never be said that I'm unwilling to try new things-- WAS THAT ANOTHER PUN?!"

You've already taken the spatula from his gloved hand by the time he's registered the pun. It's good that you did, because by the way he throws his hand up and stalks out of the kitchen, you're sure he would've whapped you with it on accident if you hadn't. He delivers the plate with the other sandwich to Stretch, who cracks a socket open to look at the plate. He makes no move to grab it, instead shoving his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie and pulling out a cylindrical bottle of honey.

He pops the cover of the nozzle up and upends the bottle over the sandwhich, drizzling copious amounts of thick honey all over it. You suppose it's probably easier to eat when the honey overpowers the burned bits. Which was most of the bread. Papyrus grumbles but doesn't make a scene about it.

"OH! I thought it was Papyrus's turn to cook lunch today!" A new voice speaks so suddenly that you nearly drop the pan. This voice has the same enthusiasm as Papyrus's but is a little more baritone and less shrill.

"It was!" Papyrus answers, his expression transitioning from begrudging to somewhat curious. "But Red kindly offered to make my meal for me! I'm eager to try it. I'm sure it'll be interesting! Maybe he'll be kind enough to make one for you as well, Blue!"

Blue brightens up at the suggestion and moves to join you in the kitchen. He greets Stretch with a loud, 'Good morning, brother!' as he passes him. This skeleton is roughly the same height as you, although he's slimmer and softer where you're broad and stocky. You don't know how it's happening, but there's definition under your clothes, just like as if you were made of flesh instead of just bone.

You chalk it up to magic and leave it at that. Blue's dressed in some sort of casual exercise gear that matches his name. A soft baby blue undershirt and gray shorts have been paired with a set of white running shoes. A darker blue jacket has been tied off around his waist by the sleeves. It takes you a second to recognize the logo printed on the upper left of the shirt.

It's an UnderArmor brand. Seems fitting.

"Will you make one for me, too?" He asks, eyelights nearly star shaped in anticipation. You cave quickly, but figure you'd best stick to what you hope is a good Red impression.

"Sure thing, Baby Blues, but you're gonna have to work for it if you're gonna be all up in my space like this." You try to make your tone sound annoyed, adding a little bit of a growl to it. Blue blinks, the stars in his eyes returning back to their normal blue circles. "You can cut up the rest of the tomatoes. Thin slices, please."

It's the 'please' at the end there that catches Stretch's attention fully for the first time. Blue's more than happy to do as asked, stepping aside to begin slicing the rest of the tomatoes into acceptably thin slices. You don't pay any more attention to Stretch and Papyrus, deciding to focus on cooking rather than playing pretend.

You also don't notice when a fourth skeleton simply appears at the dining table across from Stretch. The sound of bacon sizzling on a second skillet cooking over a lower heat drowns out the quiet conversation that begins to take place.

By the time that the bacon is done cooking and Blue has finished slicing the tomatoes -- you can't help but nod in approval at seeing how he handles the task much more gently and precisely than Papyrus had before -- you've slathered a thin layer of mayo on two slices of bread and topped the slices with the mix of shredded Swiss and mozzerella.

You carefully layer strips of semi-crisp bacon onto one slice, then shingle a few slices of tomatoes on top. You let the cheese melt a little from the heat before flipping the other slice over the first and letting it cook the rest of the way. Another flip to the other side reveals a perfectly golden brown surface.

Blue makes a loud oooh-ing sound from behind you, which prompts Papyrus to perk up and look over. You make a second sandwich, then a third, forth, and fifth, using the same method, wiping the pan clean between each one to prevent any burning.

"Didn't know you knew how to cook, Red."

You plate the rest of the sandwiches and Blue helps you carry them to the table. He sets one in front of Papyrus and sits down with his own plate in front of him. You set one in front of who you assume is Sans, then take the seat beside him with a plate of your own.

Sans was the one who spoke. He's looking at you like you've grown a second head, but he keeps glancing down at the plate. "Of course I can cook," You snip, reaching for your food. You bite into it. The cheese has melted well and there's an alluring stretch as you pull it away. Another bite severs the cheese fully; you speak around the bread in your mouth and add, "just thought it was too _cheesy_ to do it most of the time."

Sans stays silent for a few seconds before his grin widens and he grabs his own sandwich to take a chomp out of it. "There _mayo_ be hope for you yet."

"UGH! Enough puns! I thought we agreed that meal times were to be punless times." Papyrus has already eaten half of his and Stretch had already finished off his honeyed version and helped himself to the fifth one you'd made.

"Nah," Stretch smirks, "You and Blue agreed. Sans and I made no such deal."

"I think Edge agreed on that, too." Sans leans back in his chair, tearing his food in half and tugging a strip of bacon free. "This is really good, hey. My _condiments_ to the chef."

Papyrus and Blue simultaniously let out a sputter of indignation but huff and settle down again. "Speaking of condiments," Blue pipes in, wiping his hands on a paper towel from the roll in the middle of the table. "I'm surprised you're not drowning your grilled cheese in mustard... and you're looking really nice today, too! Are you ill?"

You choke on your next bite and cough hard into your hand to keep from spitting chewed up bits all over the table. "The fuck? I'm fine, ain't nothin' wrong with me."

The skeletons obviously don't believe you. Three sets of eyelights zero in on you, all of them probably thinking the same thing. There's clearly something wrong with you. Rather, with Red. You feel something at the back of your skull, a sort of unfamiliar warm tingling sensation. Then you hear a sharp but quiet hiss to your right followed by a soft thumping sound.

"You sure 'bout that, Red?" Stretch leans forward against the table, crossing his arms on the edge of it. You really don't like the way he's looking at you. It's like he's seeing right through you. Beads of red sweat slip down the side of your skull slowly. It's agonizing being under this heavy stare. "You sure don't seem to be yourself today."

"I'm sure," You grit out through tightly clenched teeth. "Could be just tired. Didn't get a lot've good sleep last night, y'know how it goes."

"You were out awfully late last night, come to think of it." Papyrus says loudly, drawing the attention away from you long enough for you to recover. You snarf down the rest of your sandwich and take your time chewing the last bite so you don't have to say anything.

"Yes! Where were you at such a late hour? Hardly anything is open past midnight, yet you were out well beyond that." Blue's words are followed by a wide grin. "Did you have a date? Oh, oh, did Edge loan you his date book?"

"Yeah," You push away from the table and pick up your plate. You collect the other empty plates and stack them neatly together. "Had a hot date down at the club. Gotta keep them single mothers employed somehow."

"Red! That is a terrible thing to say." Blue's aghast tone has you smirking. Stretch levels a narrowed glower at you. You make note that he's likely a protective brother. You understand why. Blue is precious and doesn't need someone like you to ruin his innocence.

"What? You saying you _don't_ want me to help those poor single mothers pay their rent?"

"Th-That's not! That is not what I meant and you know it!" Blue stands as well, but Stretch settles a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from moving from the table. "You could think of a better alternative than -- than --"

"Alright," Sans sighs and stands, placing his hands on the table. You find it hard to look at him. Something about him sets off a fight-or-flight response in you. Your body wants to fight but your head is telling you to get the fuck out of here. "Enough of that. Anyone want somethin' to drink?"

You busy yourself with carrying the stack of plates to the sink, trying not to mind how Sans follows you in and draws out one of the large bottles of ketchup. You watch from the corner of your eye as he pops the lid off and takes several deep chugs from the top. If you had a physical stomach you were sure you'd be feeling bile at the back of your throat right now at the sight.

"Edge'll be home soon. It's your turn to cook dinner tonight. He'll want you to go grocery shopping with him."

There's a magnetic calendar on the front of the fridge. You can see it beside Sans. Sure enough, there's names and abbreviated chores on nearly each dated square. It's a Saturday, and sure enough the hand written text reads _Red/Edge - GrcySh/Din_ with a neater scrawl beneath reading _Blue/Strech - Wash/Dry Dish_.

"He's a big boy," Sans' browbones raise at your response, "I'm sure he'll be fine shopping on his own for once."

"Try tellin' him that. Here he comes."

The front door slams open and heavy footsteps thud against the hardwood flooring. They make their way through the living room into the dining room, stopping in the doorway. The skeleton that joins your group has the meanest scowl on his face and the gnarliest looking trio of dark gouges through his brow and across a socket down to his cheekbone.

You can only imagine how much that must've hurt. This must be Edge, Red's brother. He doesn't seem shy about reminding you who he is, either.

"RED! YOU DARED TO LEAVE ME ON -- ON READ! FOR A SKELETON, YOU SURE HAVE A LOT OF NERVE!"

"H-Hey, bro..." You feel your eyelights blink out for a moment when Edge's scowl turns into a vicious sneer. "Uh, so, change of plans, yeah? I gotta do somethin' today, so--"

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" He stalks forward and shoves his way between Blue, Stretch, and Papyrus, who have all by now stood and pushed in their seats after finishing their meals. "YOU AREN'T WEASELING OUT OF OUR CHORES THAT EASILY! WHATEVER YOU HAD PLANNED CAN'T BE NEARLY AS IMPORTANT AS MY OWN TASKS."

"Actually, Edge, Red seems to not quite be feeling so well today, so maybe it'll be okay if he --" Papyrus attempts to ease the tension, glancing between you and Edge, wringing his hands together nervously. You see this and your eyes narrow at Edge. This seems to be a frequent thing, the yelling and throwing his weight around.

"SHUT IT, MARSHMALLOW! MY BROTHER AND I HAVE THINGS TO DO AND A LIMITED TIME IN WHICH TO DO THEM!" Edge turns his attention back to you and stalks forward, a hand reaching out towards you.

You jerk back and dodge the hand. One second you're in the kitchen and the next you realised that you've somehow blipped into the living room. The rush of magic leaves you winded and a throbbing pain in your temples. There's a furious squawk in the kitchen before Edge appears in the doorway. His eyelights are flaring bright red.

"DON'T YOU SHORTCUT AWAY FROM ME! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHO I AM?! I AM YOUR BROTHER, YOUR ONLY HOPE AT A NORMAL LIFE HERE--"

"A normal life?! You call this normal? Yelling and screaming at your brother like this isn't normal. This is -- This is abusive, that's what this is." You step back, taking in what you can of your surroundings. If you're quick enough, maybe you can make a dash for the door and get out before he can reach you.

Unfortunately, taking your eyes off of him for half a second is all the time he needs to push forward and grab you by the front of your shirt. He easily towers over you by a good foot and he uses his height to his advantage. He's able to lift you off your feet and hold you aloft with just one arm.

"YOU SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN YOUR PLACE, SANS. I AM THE TERRIFYING EDGE AND I WILL TREAT YOU HOWEVER I DAMN WELL PLEASE!"

Edge gives you a rough shake as if it'll shake some sense into you. All it does is piss you off even more, your anger at the horrifying situation outweighing the rising fear. You begin struggling, your hands clawing at the bones of his wrist. Your legs kick out but he's holding you far enough away that you can't reach him to kick him away.

"Let me go, ya fuckin' asshole, who the fuck you think are!" You manage to hook your claws between the bones of his forearm and twist hard. Your caws scrape bone and you hear a crack right before Edge drops you, letting out a shout of startled pain. You crash to the floor and roll onto your back, ready to jump up swinging.

A heavy boot slams into your ribs, pinning you down with a weight that can't possibly be natural. "IT SEEMS I NEED TO REMIND YOU EXACTLY WHO I AM AND EXACTLY WHO _YOU_ ARE! IT'S TIME TO PUT YOU BACK IN YOUR PLACE."

There's something flaring inside of you. A heat like you've never felt before. You feel it burning, growing hotter with each word that Edge shouts at you. It twists and thrashes like a crocodile in your chest until you can't hold it back. It coalesces into the form of a roar, fueling you with the strength to grab him by the calve and throw him backwards.

"I think it's time someone's put _you_ in your place."

The room flickers black then everything suddenly loses color completely, shifting to grayscale. A bright, silvery white upside down heart bursts from Edge's chest at the same time as one also lurches from yours. The only difference between them is that Edge's is glowing a clean white, whereas yours is surrounded by a brilliant crimson.


	3. Chapter 3

The room becomes engulfed in an inky black, flickering between light and dark for a few seconds, before settling. It was as if the world inverted itself, draining all color and leaving everything as a solid white outline against a black background.

It unnerved you. Seeing it like this made it feel like a dream. Edge stood across the room from you, glaring and seething. He was the only thing in color, swathed in reds varying from so bright it was hard to look at and so dark it was almost black as well. You think you must look very similar, but there's no time for you to take a look at yourself.

A sharp bone hurls right towards you and you react on instinct. Your body lurches to the side, dodging the projectile with ease. Another follows the first, then a third. You distantly hear a trio of voices shouting -- at you or at Edge, you don't know. It's as if your head is underwater and everything is muffled.

Everything except for a strange pulsing. It takes you a moment but when Edge's turn is over and he takes on something of a defensive stance, you realize that it's coming from your Soul. There's a familiarity to it but it's so muffled that you can barely make out the quick pattern.

You glance to the side where you see the outlines of the other skeletons in the doorway. It has some kind of barrier across it, a shimmery membrane that makes you think of soap bubbles. It's preventing them from passing through and entering the Encounter, but it doesn't stop Papyrus and Blue from trying, though. Their mouths are moving. You focus, trying to make it out.

Something, something, Edge, soul, Check?

You feel your turn coming to an end and snap your eyelights back to Edge. You follow the advice you think you were given. You zero in on the floating Soul in front of Edge and Check it. You don't see the words as much as you feel them. A Soul doesn't lie.

**He doesn't want to hurt you.**   
**He doesn't mean it.**

The words fade just as quickly as you grasp them. Edge says something but your head is still spinning so whatever it is doesn't make it through the haze clouding your senses. A grid of tall, thin bones spike upwards from the floor between the two of you, tearing into the side of one couch and splintering the wood of the coffee table in front of it.

You stumble back as several slam into your torso, driving you closer to the wall. You lift a hand and move to grab the one nearest to you, but your hand moves right through it. You make another attempt with the same result. A growl slips loose.

You curl your hand into a fist. Magic manifests in your palm, flares in your socket, and a thick white bone forms in time for you to pull it back and swing it like a baseball bat. It slams into the next incoming attack and sends it spinning off to the side. The sharp end skewers the magical membrane covering the door where the others stand, dissolving only seconds after contact.

"QUIT WASTING MY TIME WITH THIS USELESS DEFLECTING!" Edge snaps his fingers and your Soul abruptly turns blue and sags under a new weight. You feel it trying to pull you down to the floor with it, but you resist as best as you can.

Your shoulders do sag and your knees buckle but you somehow manage to stay on your feet.... and it takes all the strength you have just to do that much. If you'd had lungs you're sure you'd be breathless right now.

As it is, you still feel like you've had the wind knocked out of you. Behind Edge you see magic form into the most terrifying thing you've ever seen. A large fanged skull, more animal than human, opens its jaw wide and a white energy begins swirling inside.

_He's actually gonna kill me._

Your sockets squeeze shut. It'll hit you any second now -- but it doesn't. You crack a socket open and squint. The blaster has stopped, which has made Edge pause. You're not sure what you're seeing and apparently neither does anyone else. Its staring at you with recognition, its eyelights bright and blown wide, filling nearly the entirety of its own sockets.

It lets out a low keening whine before it nudges Edge hard enough to send him forward (and towards you) several paces. He opens his mouth, no doubt to shout an angry profanity and demand it attack as ordered, but he gets shoved forward again.

With a huff, Edge spins back to face you and you feel the weight of his glare land on your Soul. You clutch your white bone club a little tighter, sweat pouring down your temples.

The attack you expect doesn't come. The bravado you'd had at the beginning of the Encounter has all but drained away. You'd been all talk and no bite, apparently, the adrenaline in that moment making you think you could handle facing a Boss monster head on and solo.

Edge has finished his turn and there's a golden glow hovering just in front of his Soul. He swings his hand through it. It dissolves into a fine mist. The red, white, and blue bones that had been thrown during the fight also vanish at the same time.

**Papyrus is offering you MERCY.**

Your Soul returns to its former white and rises up back to chest level. It takes a moment or two for you to comprehend what has just happened. Edge had Checked you and now he was sparing you? Why did it say Papyrus, though?

Fuck, you'd be stupid to not accept it. You didn't want to hurt him anyway, knowing that intent was everything in an Encounter. One malicious move from you could have easily dusted him if the intent had been strong enough. You didn't want that kind of blood on your hands. Er, rather, dust on your hands.

You silently accept Edge's Mercy and the Encounter is over as soon as it began. The world regains its color and you sag back against the wall in relief. Your soul pulses once then soaks into your sternum and disappears, leaving being a warm staticky sensation where it touched.

"YOU ARE NOT MY BROTHER."

Edge's declaration startles you from how close it is. While you were distracted he'd snuck forward and come to a stop just within arms reach. His arms cross over his ribs; he looks even more imposing now than he did a minute ago.

"SO WHO ARE YOU?"

You... you don't have an answer. You want to pretend like you really are Red but you know you wont be able to fool him like you had the others. Speaking of, you risk a peek over to them.

Papyrus and Blue are in a heated discussion, both gesturing wildly in your direction with nearly flailing arms. Sans has placed himself between them and you and Edge, his back to you. He's a lot calmer than the other two and appears to be trying to placate them.

"WELL?" Edge's impatience has him stomping a foot to regain your attention. You jolt and look up at him. You see Stretch moving around in the background, inspecting broken furniture and leaning over to look through a hole in the wall that goes all the way through to the outside.

"I, uh... I can't talk my way out of this one, huh?"

Edge bristles and levels you with a _look_. You don't even have an older brother yourself and even you know what that look means. It's the 'you're dead if you don't do what I say' look.

"OBVIOUSLY NOT! NOW SPEAK!"

Stretch meanders -- you can't think of any other word to describe it -- over and stops near Edge. He has another cigarette in his teeth, unlit. "Thought there was something off about you today. So, stranger, what's your name?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pfft, what? You thought we were gonna actually kick Edge's coccyx? Who are we kidding, we don't have the guts.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to learn a little about Edge and Red's relationship and a bit more about their version of the Underground.

Several hours later and you've introduced yourself properly, told the group a little about yourself and where you're from. You tell them about your family, both biological and found, and find common interests with most of them. Sans and Stretch are tickled pink when you crack a few jokes that are exactly their brand of humor.

You and Papyrus both enjoy cooking. He's thrilled when you tell him you went to school for it and all but makes you promise to share the culinary secrets you know. You try not to get his hopes up too much but he's so happy to finally have someone to talk food with that he's more than willing to give you time to adjust before making any demands.

Blue shows you all of his puzzle books and insists on bringing down a few of his new model kits to show them off to you. You agree that they're very nice and you'd be happy to work on one with him sometime.

"But," You add after the introductions and conversation has tapered off into a more comfortable tone, "that's all going to have to wait, I think. I really should be getting home."

"But you _are_ home!" Blue exclaims, holding a small stack of crossword and wordsearch puzzle books in his hands.

"They mean their human home, bro." Stretch snuffs out his fifth cigarette of the hour into an ashtray then produces a lolipop from the front pocket of his hoodie. The plastic crinkles as he unwraps it before stuffing it into his mouth.

"O-Oh. That makes sense, yes. Do you live here in town? No, that's pretty unlikely." Blue's eyelights have been morphing from shape to shape and have finally settled on small blue stars. "We could make it a road trip!"

"A WASTE OF TIME," Edge scoffs, "CLEARLY THE BEST OPTION IS FOR THEM TO MOVE HERE. THEY ARE MY BROTHERS SOULMATE, AFTER ALL. IT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR THEM TO BE HERE WITH HIM AND WITH ME."

"With you?" Sans interjects, raising a browbone. His grin becomes a little tighter at the corners. "You'd think that you were their soulmate with that kind of wording."

Edge's face pinches as if he just licked a lemon. He might be blushing a little, too. "DON'T BE ABSURD! RED IS MY BROTHER AND HE IS UNDER MY PROTECTION. THUS, SO ARE THEY!"

"It does make sense, Sans." Papyrus chimes in loudly, but not nearly as loudly as Edge is. "But we can't force you to stay here if you really don't want to be here. So, if I may offer a compromise, how about you stay here for now and allow one of us to go to your home in your place? We could go pick you up -- that is, go pick up Red who is in your body right now, I mean -- while you're here."

"Great idea, Paps." Sans stretches his legs out and crosses them at the ankles. You wished you felt as comfortable as he looked. "Dunno if you've noticed it or not, but you're leaking out a ton of raw magic after that Encounter."

"I am?"

"YOU ARE. A HUMAN SOUL HAS MUCH MORE CONCENTRATED MAGIC THAN A MONSTER. YOU PROBABLY HAVE NEVER BEEN IN AN ENCOUNTER BEFORE, SO YOU HAD NO OUTLET FOR YOUR MAGIC. NOW YOU'VE TAPPED INTO IT, AND IT'S LEAKING ALL OVER THE PLACE."

This doesn't make you want to hang out here any longer than you have to. In fact, it makes you want to get home even more, to find Red, and get back to your own body. You tell them your thoughts on the matter, adding that you wouldn't want to impose on them any more than you already have.

Papyrus assures you that there is no way you could ever be a bother to them and insists you just stay in Red's room. Eventually you agree and plans start to form.

The truth about who they all are comes out. Sans leads the topic, explaining about the multiverse and the machine in the basement that malfunctioned and pulled the alternate versions of himself and his brother into this timeline. The ones you've met are the only ones that are in Ebbot.

The others have spread out around the world, trying to put as much distance between each other as realistically possible. He mentions that they shortcut in from time to time in order to check in and keep the original pair updated. You learn that a shortcut is just a casual term for teleporting.

"Does that mean that you can just teleport to my house, grab Red, and bring him back here?"

"Ehhh... yes and no? I can shortcut to places I've physically been before but not to somewhere I've seen in pictures or on TV. Most iterations of me can do that. Swap versions of Paps can do it too, but it's the same limits on all of us." Sans's explanation does make sense, but it's also confusing.

"Then... could I telport there? Since this body is technically a Sans? What about Red while he's in my body? Could he teleport here?" The answers you're getting are only making more questions.

"Nah," Stretch pops the sucker from his mouth and points it loosely at you. "You're in Red's body, but his body has never been where yours is right now. We saw you shortcut earlier to get away from Edge, but you didn't do it on purpose. It was instinctive."

"Ah, I think I get it?" Not really. "So I need to learn how to do it on purpose."

"And we know just how to teach you!" Blue and Papyrus begin to tell you about their daily training routines then, how they hone both their bodies and their magic by exercising both. It's too much for you to handle all at once, but you eventually promise to let them train you, at least until you're back in your own body.

Your training is set to begin tomorrow, first thing in the morning, so they tell you to take today to rest and prepare yourself for it because neither of them are going to go easy on you.

The talk returns to getting your body here. It's decided that Sans will be the one to teleport there and back. You give him your address and he cross-checks it against a map to determine how close he can get before he has to find another mode of transportation. He's able to get to a city one state over, but from there he'll book a Greyhound ticket the rest of the way.

It's the last time you see him for the rest of the week. You find yourself so busy that you hardly think about his trip.

It's later that evening, just before you're settling in for bed, that Edge knocks on Red's door. You almost don't answer it and consider pretending to be asleep already but...

"I CAN SEE THE LIGHT UNDER THE DOOR," He knocks again, this time sharper. "THERE'S NO USE IN AVOIDING ME. LET ME IN." A pause. "PLEASE."

... Damn it. You push yourself up from the bed and make your way across the room. After this mornings, uh, events, you'd spent the day learning the house and cleaning Red's bedroom. It had been pretty bad. It was like he didn't know what a washing machine was or how to put clean sheets on a bed. Now the room and attached bathroom were clean enough to make even your surly grandmother proud.

"GOOD EVENING." Edge greets you as politely as he's capable of, staring down the bridge of his nasal cavity at you. He's changed from his earlier Hot Topic Extreme outfit to something much more casual, a white button-up long sleeved shirt tucked into a pair of straight legged black pants. He still has his gloves on up to his elbows and a pair of black slippers on his feet. "I would like to speak with you before you retire for the night. May I come in?"

His voice takes on a quiet, almost tired quality to it. It's rough and sort of scratchy, but mellowed out compared to the sharpness it usually is. It's enough to make you step back and open the door to let him enter the room.

He moves in towards the middle of the room and stops, looking around. His mouth quirks into an approving smirk, the maleable bone lifting on one side. He swings his eyelights to you and looks at you with a slight softness in his expression. You find yourself standing a little straighter under the scrutiny.

"I thought it best that you learn about the version of the Underground that Sans and I came from. That is, my Sans. Not the soft original."

Edge moves to the desk pressed against the wall near the bed and pulls out the chair there and sits down, crossing his legs. He gestures for you to sit on the bed in front of him and you hesitate but do eventually do. You leave the door cracked open several inches, deciding to err on the side of caution.

Not that you expect him to try anything again, but you're still swimming in uncharted water here.

"That would be nice," You agree, settling on the edge of the mattress and mirroring his posture. "I should probably get an idea of what to expect when we finally meet..."

"Yes, that's precisely why I'm here. You seem smart enough to figure out already that our Underground was not a friendly place. It was nothing like the one that this timelines Sans and Papyrus come from, or like the Swap brother's, either." He tugs on the edge of his gloves, pulling them more securely into place.

"Earlier... This morning, during our Encounter..." He struggles to find the words to properly say what he wants to say. "I never meant to hurt you. You Checked me, I'm sure you saw my intentions. In our Underground it was dangerous to express any positive emotion. It made you look weak and the weak were picked off one by one. Only the strong survived."

Edge sighs and crosses his arms. His brow furrows a bit and his teeth click together a few times as he opens his mouth to continue, but closes it again when he searches for the right way to explain better.

You wait patiently in silence, letting him take his time.

"Red is weak. As a monster with a single HP, he was probably the weakest Underground, nevermind that he's a Boss monster. He was a walking target and we were attacked often. It came to a point where we had to toughen up. I trained and eventually became one of the strongest there. I used my power to protect Red... but that meant that I had to act like I didn't care about him either. If the others suspected that I had any genuine affection for him, they'd use him against me. I never enjoyed treating him that way. My brother is my life. I would do anything for him."

"That's... rough. I'm sorry things sucked that badly." You can't even imagine what it must have been like. Shit, you have trouble even choosing mean dialogue options in video games. Sure, you can be rough around the edges in real life, and you have a potty mouth too... but you'd never be able to treat someone you loved like Edge had been forced to. "But you're here now. You don't have to treat him like that anymore, do you?"

"No," He agrees, frowning. "But it's so ingrained in us to treat each other poorly that when you talked back to me this morning, my first instinct was to 'remind you who you are'." He actually uses air quotes here then drops his hands to his lap.

"The others are aware of what our timeline was like, but not why I'm so harsh on my brother. They think I'm just an unfeeling asshole that would dust my brother sooner than help him." He squints at you when you make a quiet snorting sound, but he's also sort of smiling, too. "You thought the same thing, don't try to deny it."

"Wasn't gonna. You were a huge prick, but I guess I can understand why... but still, you're not in that environment anymore. You're here now."

"Old habits are hard to break. I... I don't want anyone to think we're weak. We need to be able to show we can defend ourselves. Red is good at fighting if he has to, but one stray attack could be the end for him. He's better at running away from danger, but if I'm there to protect him then he doesn't have to run."

You're glad that he's taking the time to talk about this. You seriously doubt that he's ever voiced these concerns to anyone other than Red, if he even has. They're clearly not the type to be open with their emotions. Still, you're no therapist and you know you can't help him change his mindset. Years of conditioning will be hard to undo.

"I'm glad he has you to look out for him, Edge."

He gets a serious glint in his eyelights. "I look after my own. My brother, the marshmallow and the original, even the Swap brothers... and now you, too."

You reel back, both stunned and flustered by the declaration. "Me?! B-But you don't know me, you just met me today."

"That may be so," He uncrosses his legs and stands. His knees nearly bump yours, he's standing so close. You have to crane your neck to look up at him. "But you are my brothers soulmate. You are literally made for him. That makes you family and your safety and wellbeing are just as important to me as Red's."

His eyelights flicker down to your neck. You'd had a thick collar on this morning when you'd woken up, but you'd removed it before your shower and hadn't put it back on. You've figured out now that it was probably a physical symbol of Edge's protection. You hope he doesn't try to make you put it back on. Luckily, he doesn't say anything about it.

"I've taken enough of your time tonight. You have an early start in the morning with the other two. Your training wont be easy. Get some sleep. You'll need it."

He doesn't say goodbye or goodnight when he leaves and shuts the door quietly behind him. You see the shadow of his feet on the other side linger for a few seconds before stepping away and the light of the hall going dark.

Your mind is swirling with questions and thoughts about Edge and Red and the dynamic of their relationship. Your sudden arrival has thrown a huge wrench into the middle of it. You settle into bed and draw the blanket up to your chin, turn off the bedside lamp, and eventually fall asleep dreaming of the skeleton you've yet to meet.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're starting to wind down now. You learn the basics of magic and spend some time with Stretch. You share stories.

It took two full days of training split equally between Papyrus and Blue for you to finally get the hang of the basics. You still struggled to grasp a few things but it would have been too much to expect to understand it all right away. This wasn't some kind of anime where you suddenly possessed magic and could do anything you imagined with it.

Even if you wished it was. Magic was new to you and you had it in excess, but you barely even knew what it was. The first order of business had been simply learning how to sense your own magic. From there you had to learn how to cut it off. As it was, Stretch had been right. You really were hemorrhaging raw magic.

It had been so bad that the other skeletons had actually begun to absorb the excess just from being in such close proximity with you. It made Papyrus and Blue even more energetic and they'd begun getting up even earlier in the morning to burn off as much energy as they could, and stayed up later after dinner to go for a run around the neighborhood.

You'd tried running with them a few times but you just... couldn't keep up. In the end, you'd spent the rest of the evening being a lazybones and binge watching some weird documentary series with Stretch. Was it a documentary? Honestly, you could barely follow along long enough to understand any of it.

Stretch seemed to only watch it because it was so boring that it put him to sleep. More than once you'd both sat down on the couch to start a new episode, only to wake up hours later covered in a mess of broken chips and crumbs, with honey or some other condiment smeared uncomfortably across your face and staining your clothes.

Papyrus had eventually put a rule in place that there was to be no messy snacks in the living room. All that had done was made you two relocate to the den or Stretch's room.

The first time you had retreated to Stretch's room had been after a particularly boring episode and you'd fallen asleep first. Your hand had slipped off the bag of cheese puffs and the entire bags contents had spilled out and scattered over the couch and off the side on the floor.

"AGAIN WITH-- WITH THE SNACKS! AND THE FLOOR! _MESSY! _" You weren't sure if it was Edge or Papyrus but you didn't really have the time to react other than to stutter out an apology and start scooping the puffs back into the bag.__

__"Sorry, Papy, I'll--"_ _

__"Nnnnope. Peace, bruh." Stretch's hand settles on your shoulder, his other raised in a wide peace sign, and you feel an inward pull as magic pushes through you. You blip out of existence for only a second and reappear in the messiest room you'd ever seen._ _

__Messy was different than dirty, though. Red's room had been dirty. It had reeked of stale booze and acrid mustard and had taken all day to clean. Stretch's room was just cluttered. The floor covered in piles of clothes and stacks of books were scattered along the walls randomly, many perched precariously on the edge of a desk in the corner of the room._ _

__It didn't smell, or maybe it did -- perhaps you were so used to the sweet scent of honey on Stretch during your binging that you had gone nose-blind to it, so if his room had the same scent, then you just didn't notice it._ _

__Or your theory that Red's sense of smell was just really bad was actually spot on... but that made you wonder just how bad his room had been originally for you to be able to smell it._ _

__Stretch had made his room into something of a small studio apartment. There was a small loveseat pushed against the footboard of his bed and a flatscreen television was across from it tucked against the wall. From seating to TV there was only about five feet, and a third of that was occupied by a thin wooden coffee table covered in crumpled papers and a few packs of half empty cigarettes._ _

__After a little tidying of the TV corner and the addition of a mini fridge for drinks next to the TV, it had quickly become the go-to spot for your nightly binge sessions. At least Stretch didn't mind if a few snacks landed on the floor._ _

__It's towards the end of the week that you finally muster up the courage to actually ask anything about Red. Of course you approach Stretch first, since he's the one you've been spending most of your time with and the one you're more comfortable with._ _

__"You wanna know about Red? Like what?" Stretch lights up his third cigarette of the hour then jabs the volume button on the remote to turn the TV down to a pleasant murmur in the background._ _

__"I dunno, just... general things?" You sound just as awkward as you feel, hoping that it's not too weird a conversation topic. "I guess I just wanna know more than the basics. He's messy, he likes mustard, has questionable morals. What's he do for fun? What kind of music does he like? Favorite foods? Does he like to read or play video games? What--"_ _

__"Hold up, honey, one thing at a time. You're thinking too much about this. Are you afraid he isn't gonna like you or somethin'?"_ _

__Stretch's question makes you flush a light pink. That's... exactly what you're afraid of. You're just some boring human with nothing really special about you. What do you have that Red could possibly want? He's a powerful Boss monster with magic you had only ever dreamed of. He had money, popularity, influence. You had none of that._ _

__"Red'll like you just fine." Stretch's tone is firm. A plume of smoke rises from his teeth and nasal cavity, curling in clove scented clouds above him before dissipating. "You're a good match for him. Where he's all sharp edges and rough personality, you're soft and kind. You balance each other out."_ _

__He smiles at you and you find yourself giving him a relieved smile back._ _

__"He's gonna love you."_ _

__"Well... I can't expect love right off the bat. We still gotta get to know each other first."_ _

__"If you just wanna get to know him, then I got some stories for you that'll give you a good idea of what to expect..."_ _

__And that's how you learn a lot more about who Red is behind closed doors. He's funny and smart and he can crack one joke after the other without pause. Stretch entertains you with stories about times Red got into things he shouldn't have and the hilarious ways he'd managed to get away with it._ _

__At one point he tells you about when he challenged Red to a drinking contest and Red won, but got so sick after that he threw up and it came out of his nasal cavity and sockets. Turns out that partially digested magic was various shades of the rainbow full of glitter-like sparkles, and Red managed to produce all of them at the same time._ _

__He describes the scene as something that would have made Lisa Frank jealous and by the end of the many stories, you're in tears from laughter and your ribs hurt from the force of it. You share some of your own stories, like once when you were a pre-teen you got into an argument with someone and turned to stomp away, only to forget you were in a hallway and slammed yourself face-first into the wall._ _

__It had ended the argument with laughter._ _

__You tell Stretch about the time you were in fourth grade and were struggling to wrap your head around the new math you were learning, and how you had thought you were too stupid to get it. About how your mother had been so frustrated that she'd lost her patience with you and you'd ended up in a screaming match with her because you thought she believed you were just as stupid as you felt you were._ _

__That one didn't end with anyone laughing._ _

__Not all of the stories were funny. Stretch told you about the best and the worst and you did the same. By the time you retired to your room, you had a pretty good grasp on the type of person that Red was and Stretch... well, Stretch understood why you were Red's soulmate._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am super bad at dialogue. I don't write with the intention of having dialogue-heavy scenes, I write to tell the story. I find it easier for me to write it as if I'm watching from an outside perspective instead of putting myself in their shoes. Sorry if that's disappointing for some of you guys. :(
> 
> Next chapter should be the final piece. My apologies if this one is shorter than the rest, I'm not really paying much mind to word-count. More just ending it when I feel it's come to a natural conclusion. As always, thanks for reading. Comments are welcome!
> 
> PS. The small story snippets I wrote in here are two things that actually had happened to me with my parents. Another story I wanted to include, but didn't, was the time my parents and I went to a Chinese buffet about 16 years ago and I got some of those little baby octopus. I picked one up and turned to my dad and excitedly pointed at the tiny suction cups and boldly declared, loud enough for the table behind us to hear (a group of about 8 people, all adults), "DAD! LOOK AT THE TESTICLES!"
> 
> So yeah. They never let me live it down and smuggled home a baby octopus for me every time they went out to a Chinese buffet after that.


	6. Chapter 6

"You're staring at your phone again." Blue comments during one of the ten minute breaks sprinkled through the daily training routines. He and Papyrus have been taking turns training you over the week, spending the first few hours of the day with you running their custom course in the massive backyard of the house.

You weren't doing so well at keeping up with them, but you at least tried. You figured it was the only reason why they were willing to give you as many breaks as they did. Compaining would just make them push you harder and you were fine with not doing the extra work, thanks.

"I know." You sigh, swiping through a few text notifications. You'd left all of them alone except for the ones from the skeletons. Edge and Stretch were the ones who sent you the most messages. Edge continuously checking in on you whenever he had a moment to spare during work (he never did tell you what he did for work and you never really considered asking).

Stretch's texts were mostly jokes or links to funny videos on YouTube or Buzzfeed articles. Some were suggestions on new shows to watch once you'd finished whatever series you two were working through.

"He hasn't texted you yet?" Blue passes you a water bottle and a dry hand towel. You accept both, first using the towel to scrub your face until it didn't feel so sweaty. By now you'd stopped being alarmed whenever you'd dab away sweat and see red on the towel. Magic sweat was weird.

Magic bodies were weird in general, but you weren't even going to get into that.

"Not yet," You let out a huff and drape the towel around your neck. The seal on the bottle cracks as you twist the cap, opening it and taking a long gulp. "I don't think Red even knows his own phone number."

"Mmm," Blue sits cross-legged next to you on the grass, dabbing his own towel against the bones of his neck. He'd been working a lot harder than you, evidenced by the damp ring around his neck and on the lower back of his light blue workout shirt. "Probably not. Monster phones are a lot different than human phones. They mostly run on intent when it comes to making calls. You just sort of think of the monster you want to call and it'll go through. With human phones, you need a real cell number for it."

"Monster phones don't have actual phone numbers? How do you call humans then?" It doesn't make a lot of sense and raises more questions than answers.

"Newer phones have a special setting for calling out to human phones, but it's still a work in progress. Most of us either have two phones for that exact purpose, or have a special chip installed that's set up to send and receive calls from human phones." He pulls out his own phone from a pocket of his shorts and turns it so you can see the thin black rectangle that's been hotwired onto the back of it.

"That sounds needlessly complicated. We're definitely getting the new phones when they finally come out." You chug half of the rest of your water before you're satisfied and sigh. "S'no wonder why he can't call... and why none of my calls or texts have gone through, either."

Blue makes a small noise of agreement. "Yes, most likely. I'm sure Sans will be able to get Alphys to modify your phone once he and Red are back."

"Has Sans contacted anyone about his progress getting to Red and bringing him home?"

A fond look passes over Blue's face. You're not sure when you've begun to think of this place as home, but it feels wrong to call it anything else. No matter how you looked at it...

This is home.

"He'll be here soon, don't worry." Blue opens his own water bottle and takes a few sips before standing and stretching his arms over his head. There's a few quiet pops as he does. You stand and follow his lead, knowing that if you don't do it now, you'll regret it when you get a cramp later. "Sans is just really, really bad at staying in contact with people... but enough about that! I still have you for another hour, then it'll be time for lunch. It's my turn to cook today!"

Lunch ends up being just you, Blue, and Papyrus. Stretch actually had work today and Edge had texted you instructing you to inform the others that he was taking an extra half shift today, so to not wait up for him.

You'd sent back a very Red response, a simple 'k'. Edge left you on read.

Papyrus had you for evening training, though only for a few hours. Somehow he was more merciful than Blue and actually took it slow, focusing more on actually exerting magic than stemming it. Where Blue trained you on how to burn off the excess through physical exercise, Papyrus actually encouraged you to channel it into physical attacks.

Red's body burned through magic quickly, but there was something about having your human soul inside of it that regenerated it almost as fast as it depleted. It delighted Papyrus to no end to finally have someone that could actually keep up with his own magic, Blue not included.

Those two were damn near identical to each other. Considering that they and their brothers were simply swapped versions of each other, you certainly understood why. That said, you dreaded the mornings when the two worked together during training. One lead and the other followed, swapping halfway through, until you were nearly nothing more than a wheezing bag of bones.

This was not the type of tag teaming you liked.

You receive a text late that night from Sans. It's a simple message.

**hey kid well b there b4 noon 2mrw**

You reply quickly, _Sounds good. Thought you'd be back by now tho, can't you teleport back? _but Sans takes his time to answer despite seeing it as soon as it's delivered. There's the three dot bubble of a response being typed, which ends after nearly a full minute of static silence.__

__**asddmj** _ _

__**sry red trying to steal phone.. figure his first chat w u should b in person** _ _

__**turns out ur squishy human body cant handle shortcuts well so were on a bus otw bk** _ _

__**btw you owe me a new pair of slippers** _ _

__You arch a brow, both at the lack of grammar and spelling and at the slipper claim. It's not hard to figure out why he said that tho. If your 'squishy human body' can't handle shortcuts well, then..._ _

__You cackle and quickly text back _Did he throw up on your slippers mid shortcut.._ , not having to wait too long for a reply._ _

__Sans responds with a sick faced emoji and an icon of a pair of cartoon slippers. You can't help but laugh and send back a quick _LOL_. Then you plug in your phone and set it on the desk to charge through the night._ _

__You make sure to get up extra early the next morning, surprising both Blue and Papyrus. You've dug through your closet and found the different clothes that you knew from photos in Red's phone and the ones hung up over the desk were Red's favorites. You change into them and even dig out the sneakers you'd shoved into the closet on the first day here._ _

__When you're done changing, you make sure you tie your shoes then pull on the black hoodie. The fur lining it tickles your neck and cheekbones, but it's soft and comfortable. You stand in front of a full length mirror stuck to the inside of the bathroom door to inspect yourself._ _

__It's not you looking back. You let a confident grin spread on your face and feel yourself relax. Your shoulders slouch just a little and your eyelights take on a bit of a sharpened catlike shape._ _

__No, it's not you looking back. This is Red and you really like what you see. You know he will, too, when he sees you for the first time. You hope he will, anyway. Satisfied with your look, you leave your room and go about your morning as normal, with the exception of there being no training today._ _

__You show the four skeletons the texts you and Sans shared the night before. They agree that it's better if you don't overexert yourself today since Sans and Red are scheduled to arrive this morning._ _

__Edge cooks breakfast that morning, a large feast of classic breakfast foods. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage links, cups of fresh sliced fruits, and a few other things. None of you are allowed to have any though; it all goes into the hot fridge to wait for Sans and Red's arrival. He does let you have a few apples, though._ _

__You keep looking at the clock or at the time on your phone. It feels like time is dragging on and on. Texts you've sent to Sans go unanswered. You don't want to bother him, but it's hard not to send a message asking for an ETA when you keep thinking about it. It's irrational, but when 9 AM comes and goes, you begin to worry that they aren't coming back at all._ _

__Stretch is the one who reassures you that they'll be there soon. He tries to distract you with the pilot of a new show but you can't focus on it. You try but you just can't stop thinking that you're finally going to meet your soulmate in person and you don't even know what you're going to say to him when you do._ _

__Edge is just about to say something, probably to tell you to calm down and stop fiddling around so nervously (for the fifth time in the last hour), when you hear the slam of a car door and the squeal of tires._ _

__Several things happen at once. You jump to your feet, panic blossoming in your chest. Stretch pauses the show and stands as well. Edge is already up and moving to the door faster than either of you can think to do anything other than step around the coffee table._ _

__Blue and Papyrus have rushed into the kitchen and begun to pull dishes of Edge's prepared breakfast from the hot fridge and have already started setting the table for the first full family meal._ _

__Meanwhile you've zoned out completely and are standing next to the couch, staring at the front door with eyelights so small they're barely more than pinpricks in the back of your sockets. Not even Stretch's hand patting you on the middle of your back can settle your nerves right now._ _

__You hear two voices. Sans is easily recognizable, even as muffled as it is. The second one takes you a moment; it's _yours_. It sounds different than you remember it, but you figure it's like hearing yourself on a recording. You but not._ _

__Edge stops when he gets to the door and turns his head to look at you. He looks almost as nervous as you feel, but in a second he regains his confidence, gives you his signature cocky smirk, then flips the lock on the door and opens it._ _

__Sans enters first, mid-bicker with Red. He steps inside and grins when he sees you. "Hey, kid."_ _

__"Uh-- I.. H-Hey.."_ _

__Stretch gives your shoulder a squeeze then steps off to the side, joining Blue and Papyrus over at the entry to the kitchen. Edge also moves aside, but he stays in the room, waiting for Sans and Red to clear the doorway before he closes it._ _

__You don't see Red right away. Sans is still standing between you two and part of you can't wait for him to move while the other part of you wants him to just stay right there, to give you another moment or two to collect yourself._ _

__"Sorry it took so long to get back," He apologizes, his grin widening. _The little shit isn't sorry at all, is he?_ "But we had some setbacks."_ _

__"But we're here now, ain't we, Vanilla?"_ _

__Red pushes Sans aside and steps up to stand in his place. You find yourself literally looking yourself in the eye. It's almost unnerving._ _

__Your soul practically sings. You feel the same sort of resonance coming from your body -- your real body. You stand nearly a full head taller than Red, yet you feel so much smaller. The pulsing of your soul is so loud in your head._ _

__"INTRODUCE YOURSELF PROPERLY, RED!" Edge demands from off to the side. "YOU'VE KEPT YOUR SOULMATE WAITING LONG ENOUGH TO MEET YOU. DON'T MAKE THEM WAIT ANY LONGER!"_ _

__Red grins up at you and steps into your personal space. He sets his hands on his hips and leans forward. "Nice'ta finally meetcha, doll. The name's Red... but you can call me yours."_ _

__You feel your worries melt away._ _

__You both reach out at the same time and your fingers graze his cheek, spreading then curling as you cup his cheek. His hands settle on your chest. You lean down as he stands on his toes, your foreheads pressing together._ _

__A warmth burns in your chest as your Souls emerge between you, eliciting a hiss as they spin together. It lasts only a few seconds, maybe a little more, but it feels like forever and nothing at the same time. They brush and graze against each other, their colors seeping together where they touch and staining permanently. A silvery white on yours and a vibrant splash of color on his._ _

__Both return to their proper bodies. It feels so strange. You take your time opening your eyes, and when you do, you end up looking up instead of down. Two bright red eyelights look back at you, their shapes upside down fuzzy hearts. Your hands clutch a little tighter onto the front of his shirt before sliding around his ribs as you embrace him._ _

__Red's arms wrap around you and pull you into him, head dipping down to nuzzle the crown of your head. It's like the world has stopped for everyone but the two of you. You don't want to even think about letting him go, but you do when a loud growl rolls from your stomach and you hear the others break into cackles and laugh around you._ _

__"Sorry, doll," Red's voice rumbles above you and it takes everything in you to suppress a shiver at the sound. You draw back and look up at him, blushing. "We didn't really have time to stop for food on the way home."_ _

__"That's okay," You say, letting him go. He slips an arm around your shoulders and tugs you against his side. "Edge made breakfast. We haven't really eaten much yet, either."_ _

__"AND NOW MY HARD WORK IS GETTING COLD!" Edge pushes the both of you forward, one hand gently on the middle of your back and the other on Red's shoulder. He ushers you both to the table and pulls out two seats, all but forcing the two of you apart to sit. "THAT'S ENOUGH CANOODLING! IT'S TIME FOR BREAKFAST."_ _

__Edge and Papyrus both serve the meal to everyone before seating themselves. Conversation flows as if you've always been there and as if Red had never left. Near the end, Blue asks if you're going to stay the night or if you're going to head home now that you're back in your own body._ _

__"OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE STAYING THE NIGHT," Edge boldly declares. "AND MORE... R-Right?"_ _

__"Of course I'm staying, Baby Blues." You smile, the feeling of comfort and _home_ almost overwhelming. You squeeze Red's hand under the table and he squeezes back._ _

__"It's my turn to cook dinner."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it, that's the end. Thanks for reading, I'm so happy that you've all enjoyed this. This is officially the first fanfiction I've ever actually finished from start to end. A lot of you wanted a chapter with Red's POV and I have a lot of ideas for that, but I don't know when I'll be able to actually get around to writing it. These last two chapters took over a week because I got moved to third shift at work and it's really taken a lot out of me.
> 
> When I get home, I'm usually so tired that I only really have the energy to eat, shower, then go to bed. Most of my writing time happens when I wake up an hour or more before my alarm is set to go off and I have the time to actually focus on it... but I had last night off and I had a good days sleep so these two chapters came tumbling out of me over the last four or five hours.
> 
> Anyway... thanks again, guys. I'm so thrilled to have this finally finished. I can't even begin to express how happy it's been to read all the comments and encouragement I've gotten from everyone. Big shoutout to _desolateskeleton_ for the awesome Discord group she's got going and for the personal inspiration she's given me throughout this process.


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